Armenia will shortly begin the process of submitting an official application to join the European Union, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a speech to parliament on 24 August.
According to Radio Free Europe’s Armenian service, he commented on Russia’s demand that a referendum be held on whether Armenia wishes to remain a member of the Eurasian Economic Community or join the EU.
According to Pashinyan, such a referendum could be held once Armenia has submitted an official application to the EU, received a response and agreed on a possible timetable for the potential accession process. Until then, in the Armenian Prime Minister’s view, it is premature to discuss a referendum. That said, he did not reject the idea itself.
Russia and three other EAEU countries – Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – called in a joint statement in May for a referendum to be held as soon as possible. They also stated that the issue of terminating Armenia’s membership of the organisation could be considered at the organisation’s summit in December. Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained that he is not opposed to Armenia’s membership of the EU, but that in that case it would not be able to remain a member of the EAEU; therefore, in his view, Yerevan must decide as soon as possible which organisation it wishes to belong to.
Meanwhile, other Russian representatives sharply criticised Pashinyan, stating that Armenia’s desire to join the EU was a repeat of Ukraine’s path.
Speaking about membership of the CSTO military alliance, of which Russia is a member, Pashinyan stated that he would be pleased if Armenia were excluded from it. Armenia has currently suspended its participation in the alliance.
In his speech, Pashinyan also called on Russia to transfer control of the railway infrastructure on Armenian territory to a third party. According to him, the fact that it is currently under Russian control hinders Armenia’s integration into the international railway network. According to Pashinyan, once the US-backed project known as the ‘Trump International Peace and Prosperity Corridor’ (referring to the corridor from Turkey to Azerbaijan via Armenian territory), Armenia will gain access to the railway networks of Iran and Central Asia – whilst also re-establishing rail links with Russia.
Over the past few months, Russia has consistently banned imports of goods from Armenia, including flowers, mineral water, vegetables and fruit. The restrictions announced by Moscow were introduced ahead of the parliamentary elections on 7 June, and against the backdrop of Armenia’s attempts to forge closer ties with the European Union. Following the election, Nikol Pashinyan retained his post as Prime Minister. A few days after the election, Russia banned the import of all quarantine-restricted products from Armenia.
In July, the European Commission announced that, as part of measures to support Armenia, the European Union intended to waive duties on 80 per cent of imports from that country.